The present invention relates to devices for delivering retail promotions, such as product or price coupons, in the form of individual sheets of paper to a consumer at a point-of-purchase, and more particularly to a coupon dispensing device wherein a specially configured outer box having a sloped front end set in two divergent planes and a channeled inner sleeve extending longitudinally through the outer box are combined with a spring-loaded pusher member to improve distribution and delivery of a stack of folded coupons stored within the device.
In the field of retail marketing and store promotions, the use of coupon dispensers is widespread particularly at the point of consumer selection and purchase of the product. Often mounted on retail shelves in proximity to the associated product, these coupon dispensers have traditionally been mechanical or electro-mechanical in their operation and have been designed in a variety of configurations to deliver a supply of stored coupons one at a time to an interested consumer. The coupons are generally stored in a folded stack within these dispensing devices to facilitate their distribution and delivery, and spring pressure is usually applied to the coupon stack to maintain a steady directional force that feeds the stored coupons toward an open end of the device through which the coupons may be individually retrieved.
Many prior art coupon dispenser devices have been devised and constructed in an effort to provide a complete and continuous flow of the coupons stored therein and their repetitive delivery one-at-a-time to the consumer. In addition to construction variations found in the prior art dispensing devices, the use of specially interfolded coupon sheets, with and without adhesive backings, has been incorporated into the working arrangement of these pre-existing coupon dispensers in an attempt to achieve a more consistent distribution and the sequential delivery of the coupons being dispensed. While the variety of pre-existing coupon dispensers and their associated interfolded coupon stacks have been generally satisfactory, they have not proven to ensure a repeatable individual delivery of coupons, regardless of their size and shape, in a retrieval manner that is easily accessible for the consumer. Although electrically powered coupon dispensing devices have proven capable of the repetitive delivery of the coupons in sequence, they are prone to failure due to their power requirements and complex mechanizations.